Method and apparatus for stalk shear reduction

ABSTRACT

Four (4) methods to reduce stalk shear in a corn head row unit utilize a non-variable or dependent drive system. The four methods described include altering the gearbox ratio, increasing the lengths of the fluted portion of the stalk roll, increasing stalk roll diameter or reducing the size of the gathering chain drive sprocket. A method for reducing the size of the gathering chain drive sprocket includes the steps of providing a kit with a kit gathering chain drive sprocket of reduced size and replacing the gathering chain drive sprocket with the kit gathering chain drive sprocket.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional patent application claims priority from and is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/465,857 filed on May7, 2012, which application was a continuation of and claimed priorityfrom U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/772,144 filed on Apr. 30, 2010and now abandoned, which application was a continuation of and claimedpriority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/729,282 filed on Mar.28, 2007 and now abandoned, which application was a divisional of andclaimed priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/726,348 filedon Dec. 3, 2003 and now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The apparatus described herein is generally applicable to the field ofagricultural equipment. The embodiments shown and described herein aremore particularly for improved harvesting of corn plants.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

No federal funds were used to develop or create the disclosed invention.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTINGCOMPACT DISK APPENDIX

Not Applicable

AUTHORIZATION PURSUANT TO 37 C.F.R. §1.171 (d)

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightswhatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to corn harvesting machinery and moreparticularly the corn row unit of the corn head commonly used withmodern self-propelled combines. Corn heads include individual row unitsnormally designed for harvesting a single row of crop material. Toaccommodate various spacings between rows of crops, these row units areusually adjustably attached to a horizontally disposed frame member. Themodern trend in corn headers appears to be one of placing the row unitsat a low profile to the ground, closer together and providing forincreasingly larger throughputs.

Each row unit contains a row crop divider, a row unit hood,gathering/conveying chain(s), two stripper plates, two stalk rolls, arow unit frame, and a gearbox. The gearbox powers the row unit forgathering corn plants then stripping, separating, and conveying ears ofcorn from the corn plant.

The transversely disposed power input shaft is powered by the combineand delivers rotational power to the individual row units. As can beseen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,110, for example, this power input shaft iscommonly placed within the gearbox and continues therethrough from onegearbox to the next. To save costs, reduce complexity, and provideconstant lubrication the internal gears are contained in a sealedgearbox. The slip clutch for each respective gearbox is seen affixed toa member contained within the gearbox and movable therewith. Typicallythe operating speed relationship of the stalk rolls and gathering chainsis fixed as is the size of the external sprockets and stalk rolls.

As shown in FIG. 1, corn heads are provided with several row cropdividers for retrieving, lifting, and directing the rows of corn stalkstoward their respective ear separation chambers. FIG. 2 shows a topisolated view of the row crop divider and more particularly thegathering chains and stalk rolls of the corn row unit as typically foundin the prior art.

FIG. 3 shows the side view of a row unit found in the prior art. Thestalk rolls are powered by a gearbox. As the stalk rolls rotate, theflutes on the stalk rolls pull the corn stalk downward. Two stripperplates located above the stalk rolls and on both sides of the corn roware spaced wide enough to allow to the corn plant to pass between thembut narrow enough to retain the ear of corn which contain grain. Thiscauses the ears of corn to be separated from the corn plant as it ispulled downward through the stripping plates. The stalk rolls continueto rotate ejecting the unwanted portions of the corn plant below thecorn head thereby returning the unwanted portions to the field. Thecooperative interaction of the stalk rolls, the stripping plates and thegathering chains of the row unit are defined as the ear separationchamber.

In the past 30 years four (4) external factors have impacted cornharvesting: (1) Corn stalk harvest heights have continued to increase.(2) Corn yields have doubled through improved genetics, fertilization,populations, and row spacings. (3) Genetics also improved insectresistance, which improved plant health, stalk vigor, and increaseheight at harvest time. (4) Harvesting machines are larger withincreased horsepower, capacity, ground speed and utilize corn heads withmore row units. These factors in combination require that during earseparation modern row units must: (1) Increase the rate of earseparation. (2) Ensure that the corn plant is not severed from its rootssystem. (3) Increase the speed at which corn stalks are ejected from therow unit. (4) Retain minimal amounts of MOTE (material other than ears)in the heterogeneous material being delivered to the combine forthreshing.

Through research, operations, and testing, applicant has found that amajor evolving problem in harvesting today's corn hybrids is a largebuild up of plant material (MOTE plus ears) in front of the cross augerduring operation of the corn head. Combine operators commonly refer tothis mass of material as “trash”, “muskrat huts”, “hair ball”, or simply“a pile of fluff”. The accumulation of MOTE reduces the efficiency ofthe corn head. Many times operators claim this accumulation of trash orfluff will occur during the best operating times of the day. This isespecially the case when the corn is extremely dry as may be found onfall afternoons with low humidity. The appearance of this fluff or trashmay be severe enough to require harvesting equipment to shut down.

During field testing, several kill stop examinations of this large pileof trash confirmed that it is composed of long pieces or the top portionof the corn plant, which had been sheared off or broken off by thegathering chain paddles. When harvesting down corn it was also noticedthat root balls were unnecessarily being pulled out of the ground anddragged into the corn head due to excessive gathering chain speed.

Previous to this invention, the prior art in this field has taught thatto increase row unit capacity, travel speeds and reduce trash intake thegathering chain speed should be increased. U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,928('928) teaches a dependent drive system employing an eight (8) toothgathering chain drive sprocket. As taught by '928, the gear means withinthe gear housing drives not only the stalk rolls but also the endlessgathering chains. Based on applicant's experience, this (8) toothgathering chain sprocket appears to be the predominate size still in usewith John Deere dependent drive systems.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,070 issued to Chamberlain (“Chamberlain”) teachesthat the optimum gathering belt speed is approximately equal to theground speed of the harvester. If the ground speed of the harvesterneeds to be decreased due to crop or environmental conditions, thegathering belt speed must be decreased. According to Chamberlain to meetthis challenge, an independent drive system allowing independent speedcontrol of both the gathering belts and stalk rolls is required.

There are numerous disadvantages and weaknesses in the teachings foundin Chamberlain. A corn head with both variable knife and gathering beltspeed requires additional elements such as motors, gearboxes anddriveshafts. This increase in equipment increases the weight of the cornhead and the power required to drive the head, increasing both the costof manufacture and operation. Additionally. Chamberlain does not teach amethod to convert an existing corn head having a dependent drive system.Furthermore, Chamberlain teaches that for high ground speed operations,the gathering belt speed must be higher to match the ground speed.

Field testing and experimentation by the applicant have shown that infact reduction of gathering chain speed reduces stalk shear allowingincreased ground speed operations through improved ear separation andthreshing efficiencies. It has been found that when the gathering chainpaddle and the corn plant enter the row unit at the same time, the stalkroll flutes are going to start pulling the corn plant downward. At thesame time the gathering chain paddle is pushing the stalk up the earseparation chamber. At this point the corn stalk is simultaneouslymoving both laterally and vertically. If the corn stalk reaches the endof the ear separation chamber before the stalk roll consumes themajority of the corn stalk, lateral movement stops because the cornplant stalk has reached the end of the stalk rolls and is lodged againstthe gearbox. The gathering chain paddle then shears the upper portion ofthe corn stalk off with the corn plant ear attached and pushes both intothe cross auger.

The problem at its most basic is that the stalk roll flutes and thegathering chain paddles are applying energy to the stalk in differentdirections producing a shearing effect. When the corn stalk reaches theend of the stalk rolls and stops moving horizontally, the movement ofthe corn stalk becomes restricted. This then allows the stalk to besheared by the gathering chain paddle resulting in the separation of thestalk from itself. Analysis of stripper plates indicates pronounced wearat the row unit separation point. This would indicate there issignificant pressure and wear at this point due to stalks separatingagainst the stripper plate.

Additionally, field testing indicates the node below the ear may beweaker than other nodes in the stalk. The weakness in this nodeaccentuates the tendency of the prior art to separate the stalk fromitself when the stalk is subjected to shear. Recently improved agronomictechnology and corn genetics have produced taller corn stalks at harvesttime further highlighting this problem.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

I, Marion Calmer, residing in Alpha, Ill. and being a United Statescitizen, do herein in this patent application disclose and claim themethod of using my invention “Method to Reduce Stalk Shear.”

It is an objective to teach a method and apparatus that may allowexisting corn head row units with dependent drive systems to reduce theintake of trash or material other than ears (MOTE) and increaseharvester ground speed.

It is another objective to teach a method and apparatus that minimizesthe corn plant stalks reaching the end of the ear separation chamberwith an ear thereby allowing the gathering chain paddles to shear boththe upper portion of the stalk and the corn plant ear. Shearing theupper portion of the corn plant stalk with the ear increases the amountof material other than ears (MOTE) reaching the threshing unit of thecombine.

It is another objective of this invention to teach a method andapparatus to improve harvesting speeds and increase the bushels andacres a farmer may harvest per day.

It is another objective of this invention to teach a method andapparatus to reduce the intake of trash (or MOTE) in standing corn whilealso improving the harvesting of down or lodged corn.

It is another objective of this invention to teach a method andapparatus that reduces the loss of grain in the separation and threshingareas of a combine.

It is another objective of this invention to teach a method andapparatus that lowers horsepower requirements and reduces fuelconsumption.

Through field testing it has been the found that the larger the numberof inches of corn stalk consumed by the stalk rolls and ejected on theground prior to the gathering chain paddle contacting the stalk, theless trash or MOTE being processed by the combine threshing system.Through testing and calculation, the inventor was able to establish thefollowing formula to calculate the vertical and horizontal pull upon thecorn stalk.

The formula states that the number of revolutions of a stalk roll duringgathering chain paddle travel across the exposed fluted area of stalkroll multiplied by the outside circumference of the stalk rollapproximates the inches of corn stalk consumed by the stalk roll while agathering chain paddle moves from the start of the stalk roll flute tothe end of the stalk roll flute.

-   -   R=number of revolutions of stalk roll during chain lug travel of        the exposed fluted area of stalk roll    -   D=diameter of stalk roll (inches)    -   C=circumference of stalk=D*Pi (inches)    -   R×C=Inches of Corn Stalk Consumed

Applicant has found that one of the best ways to avoid corn stalk shearwhile the ear is attached to the stalk is to install a smaller gatheringchain drive sprocket in a row unit using a dependent drive system. Thisslows down just the gathering chain or chains while allowing the rest ofthe corn head to operate at its normal operating speed.

During field tests it was found that when gathering chain paddle speedwas reduced by twenty percent (20%) in the Case/IH 800 and 1000 seriescorn heads, the amount of measured MOTE (by weight) was reduced by asmuch fifty percent (50%). In field tests on John Deere 40 and 90 seriescorn heads, MOTE was decreased by almost seventy-five percent (75%) whenthe gathering chain speed was reduced by thirty-seven point five percent(37.5%). On average, field tests in which a direct comparison was madebetween the eight (8) tooth gathering chain drive sprocket and a five(5) tooth sprocket, a sixty (60%) reduction in MOTE was produced.

The formula above also allows the calculation of an ear separationspeed. This speed represents how fast the ear and the corn stalk movedown towards the stalk rolls and stripper plates. Ear separation speedis important because it provides an upper limit to how large the actualstalk roll velocity can be. Increasing ear separation speed reflects theincreased ability of the stalk rolls to consume the necessary feet ofcorn stalk corresponding to both the height of the stalks and the groundspeed of the combine. The upper limit for ear separation speed isreached when the ear of corn has enough kinetic energy to actuallydamage the ear or start the kernel shelling process upon impact with thestripper plates (e.g. butt-shelling). The upper limit of ear separationspeed is dependent upon hybrid characteristics and crop conditions.Applicant has operated at ear separation velocities in the range of sixto thirteen (6.0-13.0) miles per hour with good results. Equivalent earseparation velocities over thirteen (13) miles per hour have produceddamage and premature shelling.

A second way to avoid corn stalk shear while the ear is attached is tochange the actual number of teeth used on the internal gears of the gearbox that drive the stalk engaging components. A third way to allowunrestricted simultaneous vertical and horizontal pull and reduce cornstalk shear would be to lengthen the exposed fluted area (i.e. area ofengagement) of the stalk roll. A fourth way to allow unrestrictedsimultaneous vertical and horizontal pull and reduce corn stalk shearwould be to increase the diameter of the stalk roll used to engage thestalk of the plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 Top View of Corn Head (Prior Art)

FIG. 2 Exploded Top View of Row Unit and Ear Separation Chamber (PriorArt)

FIG. 3 Side view of Row Unit (Prior Art)

FIG. 4 Row Unit Engaged with Corn Stalk—Prior to Ear Separation (PriorArt)

FIG. 5 Row Unit Engaged with Corn Stalk—Ear Separation Point (Prior Art)

FIG. 6 Row Unit Engaged with Corn Stalk—Post Ear-Separation (Prior Art)

FIG. 7 Row Unit Engaged with Corn Stalk—Prior to Ear Separation

FIG. 8 Row Unit Engaged with Corn Stalk—Ear Separation Point

FIG. 9 Row Unit Engaged with Corn Stalk—Post Ear-Separation

FIG. 10 provides a perspective view of a row unit simultaneously engagedwith multiple corn plant stalks.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Listing of the Elements Description Number Corn head  80 Row unit  90Row unit dividers 100 Gathering chain paddles 110 8 tooth gatheringchain drive sprocket (Prior Art) 112 5 tooth (kit) gathering chain drivesprocket 115 Gathering chain 120 Stripper plates 130 Row unit shearpoint 135 Ear Separation Chamber 140 Row unit covers 150 Gearbox 160Transport vanes 170 Stalk Roll flutes 180 Stalk rolls 190 Cross AugerTrough 200 Cross Auger 220 Corn plant ear 300 Upper Portion of CornPlant Stalk 325 Lower Portion of Corn Plant Stalk 330

The general operation of corn heads incorporating this invention inFIGS. 1 through 9 are similar to that of the operation of corn heads ofthe prior art as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. As shown in FIG. 1,corn heads are provided with several row crop dividers 100 forretrieving, lifting, and directing the rows of corn stalks toward theirrespective ear separation chambers 140. In FIGS. 1 and 3 the corn stalksare lifted and guided toward the row unit 90 by row unit dividers 100.Row unit cover 150 lifts and separates the corn plants. FIG. 2 shows atop isolated view of the ear separation chamber 140 with row cropdivider 100 and more particularly the gathering chains 120 and stalkrolls 190 of the corn row unit as typically found in the prior art. Thepower to drive this corn head row unit arrangement is provided from amain drive shaft through a gearbox 160 as described in the prior art.See U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,928.

FIG. 3 shows the side view of a row unit 90 found in the prior art fromview AA found in FIG. 1. The stalk rolls 190 are typically powered by agearbox 160. In FIG. 4 as the stalk rolls 190 rotate, the flutes on thestalk rolls 180 contact the sidewalls of the lower portion of the cornstalk 330 and pull the corn stalk downward. Two stripper plates 130located above the stalk rolls 190 and on both sides of the row of cornare spaced wide enough to allow the corn plant to pass between them butnarrow enough to retain the ear of corn 300 containing the kernels ofcorn or grain. This causes the ears of corn 300 to be separated from thecorn plant as it is pulled downward through the stripping plates 130.The stalk rolls 190 continue to rotate ejecting the unwanted portions ofthe corn plant below the corn head 80 thereby returning the unwantedcorn stalk portions to the field. The gathering chain paddles 110contact the ears of corn 300 and convey them to the cross auger trough200. Where cross auger 220 conveys the ears of corn 300 towards thecenter of the corn head 80 for further conveyance through the combinefeeder house and into the threshing area of the combine. FIGS. 4-6 showan exploded cut-away view of the ear separation process as taught by theprior art from view B-B found in FIG. 1. In these drawings, the row unitcover 150 and a portion of the stripper plate 130 have been removed toallow a better representation of the process. FIG. 4 shows the corn rowunit 80 of the prior art engaged with a corn plant. As shown by FIGS. 3and 4 of the prior art, the corn plant first enters the stalk rolls 190through the transport vanes 170 at the ends of the stalk rolls 190. Thestalk roll flutes 180 contact the lower portion of the corn plant stalk330 and begin to pull the corn plant stalk down towards the stripperplates 130. At the same time the gathering chain paddles 110 also enterthe row unit 90.

In FIG. 5 the corn plant stalk is simultaneously moving both laterallyand vertically. As taught by the prior art, a substantial number of cornplant stalks typically reach the end of the stalk rolls 190 before thestalk roll 190 has consumed the upper portion of the corn plant stalk325 above the ear 300. The corn plant stalk hits row unit shear point135 effectively stopping or restricting the lateral movement of the cornplant stalk and positions the upper portion of the corn plant stalk 325to be sheared along with the corn plant ear 300 by the gathering chainpaddles 110.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the lateral movement of the corn plant stalkhas stopped at the end of the ear separation chamber 140, the gatheringchain paddle 110 moves into contact with and shears off the upperportion of the corn plant stalk 325 while the corn plant ear 300 isstill attached to the corn plant stalk 325. Both the upper portion ofthe corn plant stalk 325 and the corn plant ear 300 are then conveyedinto the cross auger trough 200. As shown in drawings 4-6, the cornstalk point of restricted movement in the ear separation chamber 140 isdefined as row unit shear point 135. Contact between the upper portionof corn stalks 325 and the row unit shear point 135 increases the amountof material other than ears (MOTE) that must be processed by thecombine, reducing separation efficiencies and increasing horsepowerrequirements.

FIGS. 7-9 shows a similar sequence of events for the present inventionwith an improved result. FIG. 7 shows the side view of the improved rowunit 90 powered by a gearbox 160. As the stalk rolls 190 rotate, theflutes on the stalk rolls 180 contact the sidewalls of the lower portionof the corn plant stalk 330 and upper portion of the corn plant stalk325 downward. The gathering chain paddles 110 enter the ear separationchamber 140 at a lower velocity than in the prior art. As shown in FIG.8, the rotation of the stalk rolls 190 pulls the corn plant stalk downtowards the stripper plates 130 with less interference from the slowerspeed gathering chain paddles 110 allowing the ear of corn 300 toseparate from the corn plant. After ear separation the integrity of thecorn plant stalk is substantially maintained so that both the upperportion 325 and lower portion of the corn plant stalk 330 are processedthrough the stalk rolls 190. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the gatheringchain paddles 110 are substantially for engagement and conveyance of thecorn plant ear 300 through the ear separation chamber 140 and to augertrough 200. In operation, substantially fewer corn stalks contact therow unit shear point 135 and the gearbox 160 at the end of the earseparation chamber 140 thereby reducing the incidence of the corn stalkshear which reduces MOTE and increases separation efficiencies.

FIG. 10 provides a final view of the present invention and presents allthree steps of the ear separation process as described in FIGS. 7-9 inone view. As in FIGS. 7-9 the row unit covers 150 and row unit dividers100 have been removed from the drawings to allow a better view of theprocess and do not represent a change to the equipment or process. Inthis particular figure, the invention is applied to a dual gatheringchain 120 system. The figure shows the corn plants entering the stalkrolls 190 from the left side of the figure and reflect the pre-earseparation step. The next corn plants to the right in the figurerepresent corn plants in the ear separation process. The post-earseparation process is represented both by the upper portion of the stalk325 barely visible above the stripper plate 130 and row unit shear point135. Throughout the process of the invention, contact between the cornplant stalk and gathering chain paddles 110 is minimized. The slowerspeed gathering chain paddles 110 primarily contact ears 300 separatedfrom the corn plant stalks for conveyance to the cross auger 220 andcombine harvester reducing the possibility that a gathering chain paddle110 will push into the upper portion of the corn plant stalk 325 andproduce a shearing of the stalk against either the gearbox 160 or rowunit shear point 135. Having described the preferred embodiment, otherfeatures of the present invention will undoubtedly occur to those versedin the art, as will numerous modifications and alterations in theembodiments of the invention illustrated, all of which may be achievedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for increasing the capacity of acombine, said method comprising: a. selecting a field having a cornplant therein, said corn plant comprising: i. an ear; ii. a plurality ofleaves; iii. a plurality of other organic material; iv. a stalk, whereinsaid ear, said plurality of leaves, and said plurality of other organicmaterial are engaged with said stalk; b. setting a speed at which a pairof stalk rolls engage said corn plant in a primarily vertical dimension,wherein said pair of stalk rolls are engaged with a first source ofrotational power originating from a gearbox, wherein said gearbox isengaged with and receives power from said combine; c. setting a speed atwhich a paddle attached to a gathering chain engages said corn plant ina primarily horizontal dimension, wherein said gathering chain isengaged with a second source of rotational power originating from saidgearbox; d. reducing an amount of said plurality of leaves and saidplurality of other organic material collected by said combine, whereinsaid amount is reduced via maintaining said speed at which said pair ofstalk rolls engage said corn plant and simultaneously reducing saidspeed at which said paddle engages said corn plant, wherein reducingsaid speed at which said paddle engages said corn plant is furtherdefined as being accomplished by reducing a rotational speed of agathering chain engaged with said paddle, wherein said gathering chainreceives rotational power from said second source of rotational power,wherein said gathering chain is engaged with a gathering chain drivesprocket and a gathering chain coast sprocket, wherein said gatheringchain drive sprocket receives rotational power from said second sourceof rotational power, wherein reducing said speed at which said paddleengages said corn plant is accomplished by removing said gathering chaindrive sprocket and installing a kit gathering chain drive sprocket, andwherein installation of said kit gathering chain drive sprocket causes areduction in a linear speed of said paddle by at least 20% compared to alinear speed of said paddle with said gathering chain drive sprocket. 2.The method according to claim 1 further comprising the steps: a.removing said gathering chain coast sprocket, wherein said gatheringchain coast sprocket is the original equipment on said corn head rowunit; and b. installing a kit gathering chain coast sprocket in place ofsaid gathering chain coast sprocket, wherein said kit gathering chaincoast sprocket is at least ten percent (10%) larger than said gatheringchain coast sprocket.
 3. The method according to claim 2 wherein saidgathering chain coast sprocket is further defined as having eight (8)teeth.
 4. The method according to claim 2 wherein said kit gatheringchain coast sprocket is further defined as having nine (9) teeth.
 5. Themethod according to claim 2 wherein said gathering chain drive sprocketis further defined as having ten (10) teeth.
 6. The method according toclaim 2 wherein said gathering chain drive sprocket is further definedas having eight (8) teeth.